A sanitation worker who was found unconscious in the waters off Hong Kong’s Stonecutters Island on Tuesday has died.

Emergency personnel were called at around 8.45am when police were contacted by the man’s colleague who suspected he had fallen into the water at the Stonecutters Island public cargo work area in Cheung Sha Wan.

A police spokesman said the worker was later found swimming in the sea off the site.

He said the man was pulled from the water and taken to Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Chung, where he was pronounced dead at around 10.15am.

A source familiar with the incident said the victim worked as a cleaner at the public cargo work area and was on the night shift at the time of the incident.

The insider said security camera footage showed the man leaving his office shortly before 6 a.m. and heading toward the beach.